Birds of a Feather

What about Dad?

カラス
           Karasu rolled over in her bed to her side, her wings splaying out behind her as she did so. She couldn't sleep. She wasn't entirely sure why, either. She just had a feeling of something looming in front of her. She folded her wings again and rolled back onto her back, laying her arm out widely to her left as she stared up at the ceiling and tried to will herself asleep. She couldn't shake that quickly growing feeling of danger, closing her eyes tightly to try and take a deep breath.
Her efforts were given a welcome interruption by a gentle tapping at her window. She sat up and pulled the curtains back, smiling to see Todoroki balancing himself on the ledge in the moonlight. She unlocked the window and pulled him inside quickly before relocking it and closing her curtains. "Been a while since you've been in my window." She said as he slid his fingers through hers.
"I probably should've texted you to make sure it was alright with you," he said as he lifted her chin and kissed her lightly. "So I hope this is okay?"
"More than okay." Karasu kissed him back with a bit more vigour than he had initially had. "I couldn't sleep, so this is actually perfect."
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Todoroki asked genuinely, a tinge of concern to his voice.
"I'm not sure, honestly." She admitted as she pulled her hand from his to hold the back of his neck. "I keep getting the feeling like something else terrible is about to happen. Maybe it's because I spent so long having to keep quiet about my mission with the PLA, or just the War in general."
He held her waist carefully, his eyes searching her face with increased worry. No one had really made it out of the war truly okay, but her experience had been wildly different from anyone else's. On top of being in both battles, her undercover mission had taken a toll on her for months. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know how much there is to talk about." She responded as he pulled her close. "It all happened. In a way, it's over. In another way, it isn't. In more ways, it may never truly be over. Right now I feel like we're just waiting for the next big, insane thing to happen." She locked eyes with him. "You make me feel safe, though. You make me feel normal."
Todoroki kissed her again, pulling her close against him. In a way, that was more than an 'I love you' for her and he knew that. Normal wasn't something she had ever really experienced in her life. Finding that through him had been a godsend for her- as well as shocking. She'd never have expected her only sense of normalcy to come from the son of the number one pro hero, especially as the sister of the number two, but here she was.
Karasu grabbed the front of his shirt and flipped him into her bed on his back and moved on top of him, tugging his shirt over his head before they kissed again. She felt his hands slip under her shirt and push it up to just below her chest, his fingers brushing from her ribcage to her back to just around the base of her wings to her spine. She smiled against his lips as he sat up, pressing her body into his.
Karasu brought her hand up to hold the back of his head and tangled her fingers through his hair. She began trailing kisses down the right side of his face to his neck. Because of the v cutout in the chest of his hero costume and their desire to keep the rest of the school from finding out about this particular habit of theirs she had to be strategic where she paused to leave a love bite.
Todoroki let out a small annoyed noise when they heard a knock at the door.
"Just ignore it, they'll go away." Karasu murmured quietly against his neck. "Just don't be too loud and they won't know."
After a few moments, whoever was at the door knocked again.
Todoroki let out another annoyed noise. "Can I help you?" He called towards the door.
"Shoto! We're in my room!" Karasu whispered and pulled back, her eyes wide.
There was a pause from outside in the hallway. Then the second worst possible voice responded.
          "... Todoroki?" Aizawa said from the other side of her door.
"Oh, my God." Karasu's eyes widened as Todoroki's head snapped to the door. "We're completely fucked."
"I suggest that the both of you step out of this room. Through the door." Aizawa's voice sounded both extremely serious and extremely annoyed at the same time.
The teenagers scrambled off the bed and Shoto pulled his shirt back on quickly.
"Well, I guess sneaking into each other's rooms was just getting too easy." She said with an embarrassed sigh as she pulled her shirt back down to cover her midsection. "Mmph-" she squeaked as her boyfriend pulled her into one last kiss before they reached the door.
Karasu turned the handle and opened the door, stepping into the hall ahead of her boyfriend.
Aizawa was standing just to the right of the door, his arms folded and he was pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm surprised, and I'm not." He sighed. "Due to the... nature of this, I'll need to contact both Endeavor and Hawks before this can be discussed further. We'll be heading down to the living room now." He motioned for them to follow him as he turned to walk down the hall.
Todoroki slid his hand into Karasu's and gave it a gentle squeeze.
The three of them got into the elevator in silence.
"I actually came here to get you, Karasu, because Hawks is on his way anyway. He has something urgent he needs to speak with you about." Aizawa informed her to break the incredibly awkward tension in the elevator.
Karasu looked up at their teacher and frowned slightly. What could Hawks need to talk to me about so urgently? It can't be about Mom, he'd have called me first- and he wouldn't have made it so urgent in the middle of the night like this. "He didn't say what it was about, Mr Aizawa?"
"No. He just said that it was extremely important." Aizawa responded as the elevators slid open and he flipped the lights in the living room on. "Sit on the couch, I'm going to step outside to call Endeavor." He walked out the door.
Todoroki and Karasu sat on one of the couches, still holding hands.
"Well this isn't how I saw tonight going." Karasu said quietly.
"I'd be surprised if you had." Todoroki didn't realise that he was funny, which made him funnier.
She let out a laugh and looked up at his face. "Oh, crap." She spotted the love bite she'd left at the base of his neck, just above his shoulder. "That would be covered by the uniform, your pro costume, or any of the overshirts you wear normally... and right now your Dad is going to see it. And Mr Aizawa. And Hawks. God knows they'll decide they need to involve Nezu."
"Why would they involve Nezu?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow at her.
"Because they'll want to know how you snuck into my room, so they can prevent it." Karasu sighed and leaned against him.
He wrapped his arm around her. "I'd kiss you if I didn't think Mr Aizawa would walk in as soon as I did."
"Smart." Aizawa deadpanned as he walked back in. "Hawks will be here momentarily, Endeavor in probably about five minutes. Nezu will be here shortly as well."
"You were right." Todoroki muttered to her.
Karasu's face turned bright red in embarrassment as she hung her head forward. "So how much trouble are we in?"
"To be determined." Aizawa answered, taking a seat on the couch across from them. "Do I need to make another announcement regarding the rules about the boys and girls sides of the dorms, or can I trust that the two of you won't do this again?"
"You can trust us." Karasu said immediately. She knew she was lying. Todoroki knew she was lying. The question was if Aizawa knew she was lying.
"Hm." Their teacher's eyes narrowed as he looked at them.
          "Okay. So what is that you called me about when I was heading over?" Hawks walked through the door, lifting his flight glasses to the top of his head and sliding his headphones off. His eyebrows raised when he saw his sister and her boyfriend sitting on the couch and his sister's red face. "Okay, I think I have a few guesses... While we wait for Endeavor, can I talk to my sister outside?"
Aizawa just nodded.
Karasu kissed Todoroki's cheek quickly as she stood up to follow Hawks as he walked back outside. "Hawks- what's going on?" She asked, leaning against a pillar.
Hawks took a deep breath, leaning on the pillar across from her. "I put my feelers out for mom," he started carefully. "I haven't found her yet. I did find out some news about... Dad."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Dad?" She'd never actually met the man, officially. He had been arrested before she was even a year old and they'd never had any form of contact. She knew he was a thief and a murderer, and that he had abused Hawks when he was a child. Hawks had also told her once that he had had almost no interactions with her- that taking care of her as a baby fell completely to Hawks and Tomie, and that was mainly Hawks. "What about Dad?"
"I came here urgently to make sure I gave you the news before media outlets got a hold of it, I'm trying to keep it suppressed but who knows. He escaped from prison during the mass breakouts." Hawks rubbed the back of his neck. "There isn't much information out there about him, really, except that he's free. I heard he has a vendetta against Endeavor, which makes sense. You and I probably aren't too far off his list, though. I'm not going to stop looking for Mom, but finding Dad may need to become something of a priority for us at the Hawks agency for now."
Karasu nodded, tucking hand between her back and the pillar she was leaning on. "Understandable. Are we looping Endeavor, Shoto, Midoriya, and Bakugo in?"
"Seeing as he's officially hunting down Endeavor, yes." He sighed. "Given the other current situation we find ourselves in- I can rely on you to be around Shoto in hero work, right?"
"Yes." This time, she wasn't lying. "We've done pro work together since we've been dating, remember? Including the war."
"And according to what I've heard, you kissed him twice on the battlefield during the Paranormal Liberation War." Hawks responded.
"To be fair, we thought we were going to die." Karasu looked down at the lawn. "In any other setting, we wouldn't do that."
"Good." He pulled her into a hug and closed his eyes tightly. He was worried about her, she'd never dealt with their father. Dealing with this on top of finding their mother had a very real potential to overwhelm her. "If you need to step back from any of this, I need you to promise that you'll tell me. Okay?"
She nodded, hugging him back. "Okay." She stepped back and smiled at him. "I promise I'll tell you if this becomes too much for me."
Hawks ruffled her hair. "Let's get back inside."
"Hawks-" Karasu swatted at his hand and sighed, smoothing her hair down.
"Wasn't that basically going to happen anyway?" He joked as he turned to walk back to the door.
Karasu blushed again. "Yes, but my way was going to be way more fun."
Her older brother made a face. "I suppose I deserved that response, seeing as I started it." As he pulled the door open, Endeavor's car pulled up and the pro stepped out. He was in civilian clothes, which was very odd to see. "You're in trouble," Hawks teased his sister as they entered the building again.
カラス
           "The roof is clear." Karasu said into her comm as she landed on top of the abandoned building that her, Hawks, Tokoyami, and Shinso were investigating.
"East alley is clear as well." Tokoyamo said.
"North parking lot, too." Shinso said.
"Good." Hawks replied to them. "Raven, find a window to slip in through. I'll go in through one of the rotted out doors. Tsukuyomo and Koe, keep patrolling. If something happens, your quirks are the best defence against them getting away. Also, Raven- once you're in, give us a status update."
Hawks and Endeavor had received reports that this building had a small nest of escaped convicts inside it. Hawks had decided to.take a stab at it while Endeavor focused on the larger task of trying to track down All For One and his people.
"Roger roger," Karasu slipped off the edge of the roof and swung around to a partially opened window. She used the silver reflective surface of her bracelet to see into the window without getting in front of it. It was empty. She used the tip of her right wing to open it fully as she hung on to the window ledge and slipped inside. She crouched on the ground and folded her wings down. She didn't hear anyone in the hallway. Something felt off, though. She stood and silently walked to the centre of the room. She spread her wings to sense vibrations around her- she couldn't do this as effectively as Hawks could with his Fierce Wings because her feathers weren't as versatile as her brother's, but she could at least get a sense of where people were in relation to her.
That's how she realised a one-way door in the back corner of the room she was in was opening, and someone was coming through it.
She whipped around and flicked open her staff as they leapt to attack her, countering their blow with her weapon. It was a man who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, he had a bird's nest of dirty brown hair, and his upper left front tooth was missing. Karasu was trying to memorise his appearance in case he escaped, they could at least confirm who he was and confirm they knew an approximate area to search for him.
He struck towards her again. He didn't have any weapons on him- but he didn't appear to need to. He had a row of faded red feathers down his arms, protruding like spikes. They were holding together blow for blow with her staff, which was extremely impressive as her staff was made of chromium.
          "Status update, Raven?" Hawks asked over the comms. "I haven't run into anyone yet."
"I have!" Karasu responded, ducking one of the man's blows. "Currently engaging him!" He was actually fairly skilled at hand-to-hand combat. I suppose prison can have that effect, she thought. She tried to knock him back with her staff but he landed a kick to her right shoulder and sent her flying into the opposite wall. Something in the impact triggered the wiring of the room, and the overhead light came on.
The villain hesitated when he saw her. "I know you-" he said as he advanced on her.
"Well, I don't know you." She ducked and swept his legs out from under him. "So- how about you do me a favour and hand yourself in?" She jumped to her feet, pointing her staff at the centre of his chest.
"You'd arrest your own father?" he spat, holding his hands up.
"Ex- fucking- scuse me?" Karasu's eyes widened. The colour of his fathers was the only giveaway- they were absolutely an aged shade of Hawks' wings. She didn't falter, though. "Seeing as this is the first time I've consciously ever met you- yes. Yes, I would arrest you."
Anger returned to his expression and he kicked at her again, crossing his arms and using his feathers to knock her staff away. "You're too much like your brother. A brat who needs to learn her place!" He leapt up and swung for her again. He seemed almost willing to kill her- which was an edge she couldn't have as a semi-pro.
As she swung her staff again, he caught it. He moved to cut his daughter across her face with the feathers on his free arm but was stopped by a few of Hawks' feathers swooping in and tossing him back.
          "Hawks-" Karasu said carefully as moved next to her. She could see by the look on his face that she didn't need to tell him who this was.
"Holy shit." Hawks remarked. This was as unexpected for him as it had been for her. "Well this saves me a lot of trouble." He reached into his pocket and produced a pair of handcuffs.
"Worthless kids, both of you," and before the siblings could move to cuff him, their father broke free of the feathers and leapt out of the still open window. He was gone after that.
"Probably an All For One thing." Hawks sighed as he closed the window. "The rest of the place is clean. I'm guessing this was planted specifically for us."
Karasu leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She'd never met her father before, and he tried to kill her. "So... that's Dad."
"Yeah. Real fucking piece of work." Hawks slammed the window down and turned back to his sister. "Did he hurt you?"
"No. You stopped him before he could." She raised her head and looked up at him. "I'm guessing we're going to be seeing a lot more of him now?"
"Most likely. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a goal to spook all of the remaining pros in this country." He sighed and walked over to the door, patting her shoulder. "Let's get out of here. We'll talk to the police and get back to the agency. You and I will be doing a sweep of the city from the skies tomorrow morning to see if we can catch him."
Karasu nodded, following him into the halls. "Hawks."
He turned to look at her.
She closed her staff and let it snap back to her bracelet. "I think he was trying to kill me."
"It wouldn't surprise me." Hawks slid his flight glasses off his face and looked at her again with a serious expression on his face. "He never liked that I was born, he was furious when Mom found out she was pregnant with you. He may have seen this as a chance to correct that."
Karasu lowered her eyes. "We should get outside to talk to the police."